In recent months, we’ve seen Eminem Relapse and then hit a new, more confident stride with his Recovery. Now, though, we can view what is arguably the most compelling step in the MC’s journey on the road to salvation: getting grilled by the perpetually-dapper Anderson Cooper on last night’s 60 Minutes. Now that’s some must-see-TV.
Don’t expect any grand revelations in the the piece (though still some good tidbits). The man born Marshall Mathers has always embraced his position as an underdog throughout much of his life. However, as Em and Cooper take a walking tour of the rapper’s hometown of Detroit, including stops in the rapper’s old neighborhoods and at the underground hip-hop clubs he used to battle at, Eminem does at least come off just as compelling as he rattles off the list of his life’s obstacles (including confirming his bullying as a child, but that we kind of figured that with his “No Love” collaboration) and how he now stands triumphant yet just as hungry for the respect he still so intensely craves. The pair also make a stop at the studio, where, as it turns out, Em’s a methodical notetaker and possibly schizophrenic (according to Cooper, so it must be true).
And if that weren’t enough, we get to see more of Em’s sweet, gooey core we knew he had as he talks parenting (and reveals the profanity-free zone that is his house) and using the word “orange” in a freestyle. And the rhyming word isn’t “borange” either.
Check out the complete 60 Minute piece below.